Arena Nights
by Captain Nuissance
Summary: Ember, raised in the Commonwealth, navigates a post-Institute world of raiders, the Minutemen, and a mysterious new raider group that threatens the very existence of the Commonwealth as she knows it. Rated M for language.


Ember, raised in the Commonwealth, will have to navigate through the world of the Minutemen, raiders, and mysterious new raider gang that threatens the entire existence of the Commonwealth as she knows it. Heavily influenced by Sole Survivor, the General of the Minutemen.

This story switches viewpoints from Sole Survivor (The General), Ember, and other side characters. The two main protagonists are The General and Ember, whose stories will soon merge. My story isn't canon, as it exists after the fall of the Institute. Falcon, Lineman, and other characters are characters completely of my imagination. I do not own any Fallout 4 or Bethesda content.

* * *

The General felt a growing migraine coming on. He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. _Another long day…_

"General?" Preston's questioning asked. Preston had a way of knowing when The General was at the edge of exhaustion and then driving him over it.

The General sighed and opened his eyes again to the map laid out on the table, "I'm hearing you, Preston. It's just been a long day. Can you repeat the daily report again, please?"

"Alright, well, like we were saying," Preston positioned himself over the map on the table and pointed at an area, "Currently, we are trying to recapture Hangman's Alley, which was taken by us one month ago by a surprise raider attack. This came shortly after we lost a siege from Greenhouse Nursery _and_ the Starlight Drive-In. Now, originally, we thought that these raider attacks were random. We figured that we had spread our forces too thin over the Commonwealth. Now, with some new information from MacCready, we are beginning to think differently- I'll let him take over."

MacCready cleared his throat. He laid aside the rifle that he had been polishing minutes before, "Oh yeah, well, on one of my weekly intelligence surveys I spotted an insignia on a uniform from one of the raider groups that took over Hangman's Alley. It looks like a star with a slash through it. I didn't think anything of it until I noticed it again from another raider group when I was surveying Greenhouse Nursery. I think that our territories were taken by the same raider group."

"If it is the same raider group, that would mean a gigantic group, possibly the biggest raider group that the Commonwealth has ever seen," The General said.

MacCready nodded his head slowly, "That's what I was thinkin', but it's too crazy for me to understand. Even when I ran with the Gunners, our numbers never got this high. With all the looting and killing, there's usually never enough organization in raider groups to reach large numbers."

"That would mean," Preston cut in, "That this group is a serious threat with actual organization. Possibly a boss is coming into play. We already know that this raider group has set its sights on the Minutemen. Besides the settlements that the group has already captured, I've received disturbing reports from other settlements about strange glimpses of raiders. It seems that they're scouting areas before they take them. Maybe they're reporting what they find back to a main base. If so, this would require serious organization which I've never seen from a raider group."

The General stood and started pacing. Less than a year ago, he had burned the Institute to the ground with the Minutemen. _I thought that would be the end of this madness. I thought that it would be a new age for the Minutemen and the Commonwealth. Now this? Why?_

The organization, the standard uniforms, all of this made The General sick to his stomach. He didn't like the sudden organization that was spawning from this raider group. The reason that raiders were so easy to take out, the reason why the Minutemen could defend their settlements, were _because_ raiders were so unorganized. He had relied on the greed and mismanagement to wipe out raider groups from the inside out.

But this felt different. The taking of his three settlements had taken him by surprise and in rapid succession. The raider groups had struck at almost the same time, leaving no time for the Minutemen to send reinforcements. The attack was _too_ calibrated; too organized.

He didn't like it.

The General stopped suddenly and turned to face MacCready and Preston, "We need a man on the inside. Information is what we need now."

"Who?" Preston asked.

The General sighed and turned away again, "Someone in our close circle of peers but also someone who wouldn't be recognized. That pretty much rules out me right away along with Cait, who's famous for her fighting, Piper who's made a stir in Diamond City, and Strong for obvious reasons. We'd also need someone who could blend in with the Raider crowd, someone who's had experience with gangs."

His gaze settled on MacCready.

MacCready realized what The General was replying, "Hell no. If I go back out there, the Gunners will find out and kill me. I'll be dead before the end of the week."

"It's either you, Hancock, or possibly Danse, although I'm not convinced that he could act loose enough to convince any of the raiders that he was the real deal. And Hancock poses a risk of being recognized. He hasn't made any public affiliations with the Minutemen but it could buy his mayor-ship at risk."

MacCready continued to shake his head, "Look, I'm fine with doing some loose intelligence work but there's no way in hell that I'm getting involved with gangs again. Not after the Gunners."

The General opened his mouth before he shut it, realizing that MacCready would never agree. He sat down heavily in his chair again, realizing that it was going to be another long night.

* * *

Ember woke up with her head throbbing and the taste of blood in her mouth. The bright sunlight shone in her eyes at the perfect angle to annoy her. She tried to move but realized that her hands and feet were bound. _Shit…_

"Wakey wakey, sunshine."

Ember knew that voice. She craned her stiff neck to see Vinny _fucking_ Lock grinning down at her. "Sleep well?"

Ember rolled her tongue around in her mouth, "Piss off."

"Now, now that's no way to talk to your boss, is it?" Vinny cocked his head, "Well, former boss I suppose. I couldn't keep employing you after I found this with your stuff, now could I?"

Vinny reached into his ratty coat and pulled out the key to the gang's safe that had been "lost" a month ago.

 _Oh Christ,_ Ember thought, _I didn't even fucking steal anything from the safe, it was just to use as collateral in case I ever got into trouble._

She supposed that this was a bad time to explain her predicament to her former boss. After all, after her other altercation with the Gunners, she had to keep a bargaining chip with her. If they ever caught her again…Well, she didn't know if she would be able to escape like she did last time.

That's how she had started running with Vinny's crowd. She had only left the Gunners for a night before she ran literally headfirst into Vinny's camp. The raider group didn't ask for a lot, in fact they were morons in Ember's opinion. Just the occasional settlement raid here and there. She earned decent caps too, but nothing compared to what she had been making with the Gunners.

She had swiped the key to the safe a month ago, right out of Vinny's desk when he wasn't five feet away from her. The dumbass didn't even notice. She supposed that he deserved to get his key stolen with how stupid the gang leader was.

Ember struggled against her bindings, "Congratulations, you caught me. Have you pawned my stuff already? Sold all my belongings?" For once, Vinny had seemed to tie his knots incredibly tight.

"Not yet, sweetheard, although that will come soon enough."

"Oh yeah?" Ember could feel her hidden knife digging into her spine, "What comes first then? Or is your brain too small to think that far ahead?"

Vinny's plain features twisted into anger and Ember barely saw his foot move before it slammed into her gut.

 _Maybe I shouldn't push him…_

"I never liked you anyway, fucking bitch," Vinny sneered down at her, "Always mouthing off to your boss, actin' like you own the place. Whatever. I won't have to deal with you anymore after a few minutes."

Ember felt footsteps vibrating through the earth and craned her neck to notice multiple people walking their way. About fifteen people, and all members of Vinny's gang from the look of their boots. _What the hell?_

"Ah, you guys made it," Vinny addressed the crowd, "Now, you all know what I found in our guest's personal belongings last night. The key to the safe that I've been looking for over a month. This bitch has probably been stealing from us for months after we've given her food, shelter, and caps. Is that fair to the rest of us?"

Ember heard disgruntled noises from the crowd.

"I said, is that fair to the rest of us?!"

Ember heard a yell from the crowd.

 _Uh oh…_

"It's time to teach this bitch a lesson! We gotta show that no one, NO ONE, steals from our gang and gets away with it. Are you with me?!"

More enthusiastic screams from the small raider group.

Ember tried not to panic. She had been in worse situations than this. Remember that time Diamond Security caught her stealing food? She had gotten out of that. Remember the time that Danny had held a gun to her head? She had twisted around and avoided a fatal gunshot wound. She could get out of this, she just had to remain calm.

Of course, she had never magically untied her arms and legs before. And she had never escaped a 15 v 1 battle before either.

Ember had her thoughts interrupted by one of the raiders who had walked to her feet and was now trying to tie a heavy lead ball to the rope around her feet. She kicked and was rewarded with a cry of pain from the raider, "She just fuckin' kicked me!"

Pain racked through her head as Ember was kicked again, "Behave," Vinny growled.

The raider eventually tied the lead ball around her feet, even though three more raiders had to restrain her legs in order to do it. She smirked, _Afraid of a girl?_

Five more raiders picked her up and started carrying her. Ember tried to struggle, "Where the hell are we going?"

Vinny, walking alongside them, smirked at her again, "Why tell you when I can show you?"

The group stopped and Ember twisted her head. The sight sent a shiver down her spine. The lake.

Suddenly she knew exactly what they were going to do. She struggled fiercely, her elbow catching an unsuspecting raider and her head knocking against another's jaw. The raiders grunted but gave no sign that they were going to let go.

 _They're going to throw me in the fucking lake._

Ember looked at Vinny, "This is barbaric."

Vinny grinned, a look of madness in his eyes, "Shouldn't have stolen from us, sweetheart."

Vinny spun around to the crowd, "Everyone gather around! Now, who takes advantage of us?"

"NO ONE!"

"Who steals from us?!"

"NO ONE!"

"What happens when you disobey orders?!"

"DEATH!"

Vinny turned to Ember again, "Any last words?"

Ember looked him directly in the eye. "Fuck you."

Ember barely had time to register Vinny's snarl before she raider's arms gave out and she was surrounded by cold darkness.

* * *

Lineman watched the girl plunge into the lake. He glanced at Falcon, who was leaning over his rifle. The insignia on his right arm gleamed in the Commonwealth sunlight.

"Go," he mouthed.

A shot rang out and the leader of the raider group was dead on the ground with a hole in his head. Falcon pulled the bolt back on his rifle and a smoking casing fell out. The raiders near the lake shouted, drawing their guns.

Another shot from Falcon and the raider who had thrown the girl in the lake was dead on the ground.

Lineman gave a hand signal and the rest of his group came out of the trees. They wielded guns made out of rope and wood to high quality steel, but they were the best guerilla fighters in their group currently. They did their work quickly. In a few seconds, the small raider group lay dead on the ground.

Lineman made his way quickly down the slope to the lake. He peered at the lake.

No bubbles. Not a good sign.

Falcon came up beside him, his rifle slung over his shoulder, "She could still be alive."

Lineman grunted, "So what if she is?"

Falcon shrugged, "We could always use new contestants. Who knows, we could find some use for her."

"Just one more mouth to feed," Lineman growled, but he was already unbuttoning his flannel and removing his weapons.

Falcon tried not to laugh as Lineman frowned, "She better be worth it."

He dove into the lake.

* * *

Ember couldn't remember being this cold before.

The cold was suffocating. She could feel it around her, seeping into her bones.

Ember struggled at her ties but gave up eventually to try and preserve oxygen. If she could just get to her knife…

She could feel death approaching, closer than it ever had before. She had been close to death so many times since she had been on her own. All those nights, stealing food and almost being caught. All those nights, running with so many different gangs. That's how you had to survive in the Commonwealth.

Only a few more seconds now before she would have to breath in the cold, radioactive water. She tried to remember a good, pure memory before she died. Why could she not remember one?

Suddenly she heard a noise and a figure entered the water with her. Darkness entered the corners of her vision. The figure moved closer to her, but Ember didn't have the energy to communicate. A star with a slash through it flashed in front of her vision.

Suddenly, she felt the weight cut from her feet and arms life her under her armpits. But too late, she had to breathe.

 _Oh, damnit._

Ember breathed in the cold lake water.

* * *

Lineman watched as the girl puked up liter after liter of water. After she was done, she opened her eyes, only to pass out again a second later.

"She'll live," Falcon said. He crouched near the girl and started patting her down. His fingers found a knife that had been deftly hidden against her back. He raised his eyebrows.

"Bet she didn't go down without a fight."

Lineman nodded and sized up the girl. Lithe but semi-muscular. Too skinny to be nourished well, he thought. A nasty gash on her cheek, probably a byproduct of why the raiders tried to kill her. "Now, what do we do with her?"

"Take her back to the boss, I guess. Enter her in the arena maybe. We'll see what he says."

"We really should be getting back to Hangman's Alley. The Minutemen have been sieging that settlement for days, and they only have a few more days of rations left," Lineman stood, "If we hadn't gotten distracted by this, we would have been there by now."

Falcon shrugged, "Hangman's Alley can handle themselves. We have a lot of cargo from this raider settlement and we need to unload anyway."

Lineman grunted again, "I don't like it."

"I know you don't, big guy," Falcon patted him on the shoulder, "Come on, let's head back to home base."


End file.
